Cyber Security is defined as the state of being protected against the criminal or unauthorized use of electronic data, or the measures taken to achieve this.

October is Cyber Security Awareness month and to remind people to stay safe when online, North Point’s Cyber Security CTE has been providing tips to improve people’s cyber awareness. Cyber Security is so important in our day and age because of the wide range of technologies we use. Most of us aren’t even aware of how much time we spend online, and our large media presence causes us to be very lax when it comes to cyber security.

Now most of the time, cybercrimes are targeted toward big businesses like the Yahoo Data breach where more than 3 billion user accounts were stolen. This incident put personal information such as names, phone numbers, email IDs, and passwords out in the open. A more recent example would be the Twitch Data Breach. Twitch is a streaming platform where people stream themselves live playing video games, drawing, or simply talking to their audience. During quarantine, Twitch rose in popularity that rivaled sights like YouTube. However, on October 6, 2021, more than 120 gigabytes of sensitive data was leaked onto an online chat forum called 4Chan. The anonymous user that leaked the information claimed to have the company’s source code which is the foundation for software and program creation. The leak was also labeled as part one, indicating more is to come from the hacker. The hacker exposed sensitive information like the earnings of the top game streamers from 2019 to October 2021, the top account reaching around $9.6 million in total.

The Twitch cyber breach unveils the startling reality of cyber security and how easy it is for some people to get information online. Most importantly, it reminds people that when they log into a website online, there is a chance that they aren’t exactly the safest. Now more than ever, people have been taking certain measures to make sure the sites are safe. Some of these tips include:

• Using various passwords on multiple sites. This is so that if one account gets compromised, your other accounts won’t.
• Setting up Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This adds another layer of protection for you personal date by requiring verification of user’s identity.
• Keeping your systems up to date helps because older systems are more vulnerable. System updates patch any known weak spots.
• Installing Anti-Virus Software helps combat digital attacks.
• Avoid unnecessary or suspicious downloads. Downloads are a prime tactic hackers use to gain access to your network. Be aware of anything you are downloading.

Cybersecurity is so important because it protect all categories of data from theft and damage. Without a cybersecurity program, an organization cannot defend itself against data breach campaigns, making it an irresistible target for cybercriminals. Even though students aren’t always at risk of extreme data breaches, it’s still important that you protect yourself from getting your personal information like passwords, logins, credit card information, and much more, stolen.